Category Archives: scissors

– “Challenger”

Beyonce was criticized using audio from the space shuttle Challenger disaster in her new song “XO.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

The space shuttle “Challenger” had an accident on the way space soon after launching, and all of crews members died. Here is the connection between “challenger” and “Asian Americans.” One of crews in the shuttle was Japanese American. His name was Ellison Shoji Onizuka (鬼塚　承次) and he was the first Asian astronaut in America. As I’m Japanese, I’m proud of the fact first Asian astronaut was Japanese American, and at the same time I’m sorry about his life was too short. I researched more about him, and I knew he had come to Japan to find his root. And now, in Fukuoka prefecture, which is his grandfather’s home town, there is a bridge called “Ellison Inizuka Bashi.”

 

whatsnew6157205714d2facd0184b1_2

According to the CNN, Beyonce said “The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten,” in a statement reported by ABC News. I love Beyonce, so I want to believe her words as one of her fans; however, thinking about the relatives of the casualties, I think there is no excuse to be criticized by them.

Hiroo Onada dies at 91

How interesting that I am seeing the story of Onada again. I remember coming across it on Reddit a couple years back and briefly read about this persons adventure in the Philippines. I even recall going to work and telling my friends about it just because I felt like this was a story like no other.

It made for a unique story because at the time because it seems as though many people were trying to communicate with Onada that the war had been over for 29 years but he refused to believe it, thinking that it was all propaganda. In one of the articles I read from over a year ago, apparently a helicopter flew over the jungle that Onada had possibly been staying in and just dropped TONS of leaflets over the jungle in hopes that they would find it. Stating things like “The war is over! Come down now!” but he refused to believe it because at the time of WWII, his commanding officer Major Yoshimi Taniguchi promised to him and Onada’s men that he would come back for them.

Then this strange layer was added when an explorer named Norio Suzuki was on a mission around the world in 1974 to find three things:  Lieutenant Onada, a panda and the abominable snowman. Suzuki seemed to be very specific that it needed to be in that order exactly. I guess I really love Suzuki’s story in particular is partially because the three things that he was on a mission to find seemed so random. Suzuki ended up finding and even befriending Onada and tried to convince him to come out of the jungle, yet Onada still refused.

It wasn’t just Onada was camping in this jungle either, he was still pillaging Philippine villages and harming people. The Japanese Government had to step in and relocate Major Yoshimi Taniguchi who had long since retired and was working at a small book shop. They brought him to the jungle and had them speak to each other and it was then that Onada had learned that the war was over.

He ended up receiving compensation for the additional 29 years he served in the military. In some ways people looked up to him as an incredibly strong, and loyal person and to strive to be like him but from what I remember reading from the old article, he became very depressed that when he returned back to Japan, so much had changed especially with how the youth were treating their elders and he was not very proud of his actions in the Philippines and felt a lot of embarrassment. He ended up donating a lot of money to the Philippine villages that he pillaged but they still do not forgive him.

 

Paull Shin’s Retirement

After 17 years in Senate, Paull Shin announced an immediate retirement due to his recent diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease. His life story is pretty fascinating in that he first began his life as an orphaned boy in Korea, was adopted by an American Soldier during the Korean War when he was 16 years old. He came to the U.S. not knowing the language or even knowing how to read. However, according to The Herald, a newspaper in Everett, Shin “consumed knowledge like water” and went onto graduate from U.W. with a doctorate. He found his passion with education and became a professor of East Asian studies and later became the first Asian American to ever to be elected into the Washington State Legislation. A very well respected man, he seems to be loved by many of his peers.

Paull Shin

News&Blues

-Challenger-

Challenger is NASA’s second space shuttle. But, on Jan. 28, 1986, the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing the seven crew members. The accident changed the space program forever. One of the astronaut members on NASA was Ellison Onizuka who was Japanese American, Sansei, from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii. 

a pop

His death was especially heartbreaking for the Nikkei community. Nikkei saw Onizuka as hometown hero. So, his story has been passed on the generations and genarations. For example, Little Tokyo in Los Angels, California has a street named after him.

shuttle_monument shuttle_crew11 i

Here is my favorite Onizuka’s famous quotes.

“Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine.”
- Ellison Onizuka, 1980

-HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother) -

Click here to view the embedded video.

In this show, there was stereo type toward Asian people. The white casts dressed up stereotypical Asian costume and acted like Kung fu and had  Asian’s English accent.  In addition, this show used those Asian style for fun. So, Asian American community complained of it.

I think this show shouldn’t have used Asian or other ethnic style unless all casts understand these culture.

 

- Paull Shin -

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shin is the first Korean American elected to the Washington State Legislature. He grew up as an orphan in South Korea during the Korean War and was adopted by an American soldier and brought to America.

Shin had served in the Senate since 1999 and on Tuesday announced his retirement from the Washington State Senate, effective immediately. His success made Korean and Asian American proud of their heritage.

- World War II stragglers -

6963cfae

Hiroo Onoda, the last Japanese imperial soldier to emerge from hiding in a jungle in the Philippines and surrender, 29 years after the end of World War II, has died. He was 91.  He was fighting in different country against America for 29 years. After the war finished, Japanese economy has changed a lot. I suppose that it was so hard for Onoda to get used to changed Japan as if Japan was not his home country. It reminds me of Asian American.

 

 

 

– Pray for KOBE

 

I’m planing to talk about my country Japan sometimes on this blog, and this is my first time to post about my country, so I’m a little bit nervous but I want you to know more about Japan!

Do you know Kobe? This is my home town. I was born there and I’m growing up there. Today, I’d like to talk about　”Han-Shin Awaji Earthquake disaster.”  The earthquake happened on January 17th, 1995 in Kobe (I mean not only Kobe area, but most of the damaged area was Kobe). Today is the 19 years memorial day. I’ll show you the picture of the disaster, and you can find how big it was.

地震 地震

地震１ A36

 

6,434 people lost their lives because of this earthquake. Fortunately, my home was fine, and all of my relatives were also okay. Honestly, I don’t have any memories about this earthquake because I was two years old. I’m frustrated that I couldn’t do anything. I know it was the natural disaster, so everyone couldn’t do anything before it. However, their revive was amazing, and we have memorials not to forget about this disaster and to show we can revive.From the winter in 1995, “Ruminarie KOBE” which is light decoration hold in Kobe every year.

images (1)

 

And also, every year we pray for casualties on the day at the time.

images

 

Thanks for these memorial, I have never forgotten about the earthquake and I realize that we can’t expect natural disasters. So, we need to be prepared for whatever may happen. I want to tell you more, but time to do homework… I hope you know more about Kobe except “Kobe beef.”  Please pray for Kobe. Thank you.

 

 

Paull Shin

10 days ago Washington State senator Paull Shin resigned from office after revealing that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Shin was the first Korean American ever elected to the Washington State Legislature where he served for almost 15 years. Originally born in Korea, Shin was orphaned and taken in as the houseboy of several U.S. Army officers. One of them adopted Shin, and brought him back to the United States where he went on to get his GED and go to university (despite not learning to read until he was a teenager). Shin inspired other immigrants in his community to enter the political arena. In 2002 Shin successfully sponsored a bill that removed and prohibited the use of the word “Oriental” in state and local legislation.

An insightful interview with Shin can be found here.

Paull Shin

Paull Shin

The Challenger Explosion

The Challenger Explosion

Jan 28th marks 28  year since the space shuttle Challenger exploded in a tragic accident only 73 seconds after lift off. Ellison Onizuka was on board the Challenger and perished with the other astronauts. He was the first Asian American astronaut and the first Asian American to go into outer space.

Onizuka’s legacy lives on after his death, and he has been memorilized in several ways by the Asian American community. In his birth place of Hawaii there is the Onizuka Village Family Housing, The Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center, and The Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. Little Tokyo in Los Angeles has a street dedicated in his name, as well as a scale replica of the Challenger as a memorial. Onizuka paved the way for future Asian American Astronauts and was clearly a much loved member of his community.

Astronaut Onizuka eats with chopsticks white on the mid deck

Astronaut Onizuka eats with chopsticks white on the mid deck

Ellison Onizuka poses with a space suit helmet

Ellison Onizuka

New Photos of the ‘Challenger’!

A part of me thought that the new news on the ‘Challenger’ was the controversial sample that was used in one of Beyonce’s new songs ‘XO’. See link below:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5855074/beyonces-use-of-challenger-disaster-audio-angers-nasa-astronauts

However, it wasn’t and that’s okay and the newer news is pretty exciting and I was immediately able to see the connection to Asia America.

Last quarter, we learned that when the Japanese Americans were getting ready to go to into the internment camps, they entrusted some of their treasures either to their white neighbors or hid them within their home in either the attic or basement, but with the conclusion of WWII a lot of the Japanese Americans never made it back to their old home to retrieve their treasures either because it wasn’t their property anymore or they wanted to be far from the city that condemned them to the camps. Throughout time since then, old photographs and dolls were being found. With the photographs, it allowed us to see what kind of lives the Japanese Americans lived within that time. Some of the people in the photographs were also found and when they were shown the pictures they remembered either everything that was happening in the photo or even able to remember any people that were in the photographs with them. It allowed us to dig up a part of american history that was swept under the rug.

The person who found photos of the ‘Challenger’ tragedy found it at his deceased grandfathers house in the attic and posted his findings onto the famous website Reddit. There, people reminisced about where they were and what they were doing when the Challenger exploded. It’s been 28 years since the Challenger tragedy so in a sense, it had turned into forgotten history, but the findings of the new photographs, in some sense re-awakens that part of our American history.

HIMYM *headdesk*

I immediately got home today after lunch to Google what was happening with a T.V. show that I am a fan of and to tell you the awful truth, I am not at all surprised by their actions for choosing to put their ‘yellow face’ on. Why? Because this show is problematic LEFT AND RIGHT.

It is heartbreaking to see someone like Neil Patrick Harris, a proud father of two in a same sex marriage, to play a character (Barney) that is so. incredibly. misogynistic.  Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) is no saint either! His constant whining about not finding a wife throughout the show is incredibly immature and it takes several times for Robin (played by Cobie Smulders) to say ‘No’ to him when he wants to have a romantic relations with her.

I’m sorry, it’s just too hard to point out every single thing they do on this show that is fucked up so I provided you with a link that has a list of all the awful things this show portrays:

http://maybegenius.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-i-met-your-mother-cuddly-sexism.html

So how do I feel about ‘yellow face’? Well, unfortunately,  it probably was on it’s way anyway.

Besides, doing ‘yellow face’ is like so TOTALLY okay, it’s not racist but please let’s just avoid black face, we don’t want to be THOSE kind of people. African Americans were oppressed, and in fact, we are just poking fun at how talented all Asians are with Kung Fu because we LOVE Kung Fu too! Please note my sarcasm in that.

Man, sometimes I can’t believe it’s 2014 with the entertainment industry still pulling these stunts. Did not one person through the writing process of that episode think or mention “Wow, this is blatant racism guys.”

The co-creator did issue an apology after people on twitter started tagging their stuff with #HowIMetYourRacism. I sort of wish they didn’t issue the apology via Twitter only because you only have a certain number of characters you can insert and therefore shortens it but I also understand that in this day and age, Twitter is one of the major ways that celebrities or writers can directly respond to an audience.

 

*barf*

… Damnit Ted.

 

The only good thing about this picture is Jason Segel.

Car DISCUSSION with Sung Kang

I am somewhat a fanboy of Sung Kang and since he was in the movie  that we watched, Better Luck Tomorrow, I thought I would post this here to make a connection. This is just a short youtube series where Sung Kang holds a “car discussion” but his role is that of a terrible talk show host. In this video he is interviewing Tyrese Gibson. Enjoy!

And on a side note, for those who are fans of Fast and the Furious, I thought it was interesting that his name was Han in this movie as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.